Willie Smith: Alto Sax All-Time Great 1934-1956

Al Norris | Al Ramsay | Allen Reuss | Andre Previn | Arnold Ross | Art Depew | Barney Kessel | Benny Carter | Bill Harris | Billy May

It’s about time that altoist Willie Smith had another collection devoted to his work, following the Ocium Sound of Distinction...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: May/2020

Basquiat Strings: Part Two

Amanda Drummond | Ben Davis | Dave Smith | Emma Smith | Jennymay Logan | Richard Pryce | Seb Rochford | Vicky Fifield

I saw Basquiat Strings at Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion in 2008, not long after they were nominated for the...

Reviewed by Marcus O’Dair in issue: July/2013

David Liebman/Tatsuya Nakatani/Adam Rudolph: The Unknowable

Adam Rudolph | David Liebman | Tatsuya Nakatani

Dave Liebman has never stopped growing as an artist, harshly self-critical, he is a player constantly seeking to improve, an...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: March/2018

ArtPepper: Four Classic Albums: Second Set

Art Taylor | Bobby Timmons | Clarence Sharpe | Curtis Fuller | George Coleman | Horace Silver | Lee Morgan | Paul Chambers | Pepper Adams | Philly Joe Jones

Want to buy a present for the alto saxophonist in your life? You could do no better than this, the...

Reviewed by Simon Spillett in issue: November/2019

Olivier Chavet: Racines

Daniel Chavet | Heidi Bayer | Olivier Chavet | Sebastian Scobel | Werner Lauscher

Young drummer-composer Olivier Chavet’s Belgian-German quintet debut is titled Racines, translated from the French as ‘roots’. Chavet is a trained...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: July/2022

Aaron Burnett & The Big Machine: Jupiter Conjunct

Aaron Burnett | Adam O'Farrill | Carlos Homs | Esperanza Spalding | Joel Ross | Kush Abadey | Nick Jozwiak

With Jupiter namechecked as an inspiration and four tracks titled after the planet's moons, the influence of Sun Ra and...

Reviewed by Mike Hobart in issue: February/2021

Monocled Man: Southern Drawl

Chris Montague | Jon Scott | Rory Simmons

When trumpeter Rory Simmons isn't touring and recording with Jamie Cullum, he's directing a huge bundle of creative energy into...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: June/2014

Dave Douglas: Secular Psalms

Berlinde Denman | Dave Douglas | Frederick Leroux | Lander Gyselinck | Marta Warelis | Tomeka Reid

Secular Psalms evolved from a commission to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Jan and Hubert van Eyck’s painting The Adoration...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: June/2022

Mike LeDonne and the Groover Quartet: From the Heart

Slick and derivative are words which come to mind upon listening to this B3 organist's all-too-familiar soul-jazz combo, but the...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: September/2018

Mingus Dynasty/Big Band: The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note

Alan Silva | Andrew Hill | Ben Riley | Clifford Jordan | Freddie Waits | Rufus Reid

Mingus repertory bands are now such a perennial feature, it takes a moment to refocus on their early days. The...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: February/2016